Join us Dec. 1-3 in Nashville for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit
For a company that specializes in travel, you would think Delta wouldn’t need a geography lesson. You’d be wrong.
Delta became the latest airline of late to commit an embarrassing social media snafu when it tweeted in celebration of the U.S. World Cup match victory over Ghana yesterday.
The tweet included a congratulatory message attached to a photo showing the final score of the game, 2-1, superimposed over the Statue of Liberty (representing the U.S.) and a giraffe (to represent Ghana).
The problem? There are no giraffes in Ghana.
The giraffe gaffe, which has since been deleted, drew swift and furious rancor from the Twitter peanut gallery.
You can book flights to Accra, the capital of Ghana, on @delta’s website. Do not take those flights. They will end up in the Serengeti.
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) June 17, 2014
“Hey, Steve, did you do that giraffe, tweet?” “Yes, ma’am.” “Well pack your stuff. You’re Ghana.” “HAHAHAHA!” “No really, you’re fired.” — Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) June 17, 2014
@Delta @clint_dempsey @SoundersFC Congratulations on being both smug, patronising and ignorant at the same time. A giraffe on the plains?!
— Ekow Acquah (@Ekow_Acquah) June 17, 2014
RIP to @Delta‘s social media manager.
— Gene Demby (@GeeDee215) June 17, 2014
There may, however, be one bit of silver lining:
Everyone has become a giraffe expert
— Sarah N. Emerson (@SarahNEmerson) June 17, 2014
Make that two silver linings: While the tweet was clearly born of ignorance, at least it was devoid of any pornographic images –never a good corporate look, even in the friendly skies.
More in Marketing
Future of Marketing Briefing: Creators had a big year. Christmas still went to the celebrities
Despite leaning on creators for most of the year, marketers aren’t doing it for the holiday crunch. That job still belongs to celebrities.
In graphic detail: Six thousand brands later, ChatGPT ads still have a conversion problem
OpenAI has ambitious ad revenue targets, which depend on advertiser demand, measurement and monetisation.
Agencies find AI overuse is leading to brief bloat
Agencies and marketers now frequently use AI tools to create media and creative briefs. But the practice could be a canary in the coalmine for AI overuse in advertising.